Bismarck apologises for foul language
Veteran hooker Bismarck du Plessis has formally apologised for his inappropriate verbal joust with fellow Springbok Victor Matfield last week.
Du Plessis, in his team's 35-43 Super Rugby loss to the Bulls in Pretoria last week, hurled abuse at Matfield after the two grappled on the ground.
The incident continued to simmer in the media all week and also made it onto rugby365's new talk show, Late Tackle.
On Thursday Du Plessis finally spoke out - apologising for his behaviour in what the Sharks described, in a media statement, as a "very physical encounter that was contested passionately by the respective teams".
Du Plessis said that "on reflection" after the match he realised that he acted "inappropriately with his choice of language used" and would like to apologise for his behaviour.
"I am blessed to be able to play the game I love professionally," the Bok hooker said.
"Sometimes during heated exchanges one finds it difficult to control emotions and as a result things get said, which we are not proud off," Du Plessis added.
"What I said [last] Saturday, which was clearly visible especially to the youngsters watching was inappropriate and I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to everyone that I let down."
The two Bok veterans have already resolved the matter internally, during a Bok get-together in Johannesburg on the Sunday.
"The great thing about sport is the camaraderie shared amongst players and despite incidents that may take place on field we are still able to maintain friendships off it," Du Plessis said.
"I have great respect for Victor, who is a good friend of mine. We chatted about the incident on Sunday at the Springbok camp and there was no animosity between us.
"In fact, we had a great training session together.
"I always strive to be a good role-model for the youngsters out there and I thank our fans for their invaluable support."
* See the incident - from about three minutes 50 seconds on the clip!